Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world and Croatia is trying to make a name for itself.
Home to many great players, a handful of Croatians are competing in professional leagues across the United States. Ivan Jakovljevic, Domenika Turkovic, and Lorena Duknic are just a few of the players thriving on the pickleball scene looking to grow the sport around the world.
Specifically, Turkovic, an accomplished former college tennis player, who was ranked as high as #7 in the country for doubles and #69 in singles at Arizona State University, decided to use her skills to transition to a different racket sport.
After coaching pickleball last summer and becoming a full-time professional at Mission Hills Country Club earlier this year, Turkovic’s goal was to earn the highest certification in pickleball to elevate her teaching game.
She never imagined she would become a professional athlete, hoping to represent Croatia around the world.
Seeing the sports growth has led her to dream big about what Croatians can accomplish.
“It is incredible how much pickleball is spreading around the world and I hope to represent Croatia in every country I go to,” Turkovic said. “Hopefully one day we can do the same in the Olympics.”
She is currently situated in Florida while training with Lee Whitwell, the number one senior pro in the world.
The mentorship has proved to be invaluable to Turkovic.
“Lee is amazing,” Turkovic said. “Her knowledge is incredible, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn from her.”
Turkovic trains with Whitwell for three hours a day and travels almost every other week to compete.
Turkovic’s biggest accomplishment so far is a silver medal at an APP Women’s Event in Columbus, Ohio. On her way to the finals, she beat Nicole Eugenio and Susanah Barr before falling short to Shanon Pretorius in three games on Championship Sunday.
She has also made an appearance in multiple quarterfinals in only a few of the professional tournaments that she has played.
As a professional Turkovic’s goal is to compete in top PPA and APP events next year in addition to traveling to Europe to represent Croatia in the European Championships at the end of the year.
More specifically, she is looking to make at least five championship Sundays and organize a Croatian team to compete in the European Championships and Pickleball World Event.
Turkovic is eager to see Croatia compete in international tournaments in the future.
“I can’t wait to have my country’s team competing on the international scene,” Turkovic said.
As for a Croatian team competing in the states, Turkovic believes she helped make history.
“So far I played with my fellow Croatian Lorena Duknic at an APP Dallas, and we finished 10th,” Turkovic said. “I am pretty sure that was the first ever all-Croatian team competing in a professional tournament.”
With her career just beginning, Turkovic has a very bright future, and we look forward to following the rising star in her next adventure.
She will start her 2025 season on January 6th in the PPA Master at Mission Hills Country Club in Palm Springs, California.